


Sealing Fates

by Phoenix_Commander



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Japan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2018-10-13 14:49:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10515933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenix_Commander/pseuds/Phoenix_Commander
Summary: Three deities defied what fate had decreed for three mortal souls. Nora's, Ren's, and Weiss' lives are now their own to live. But they will need the help of their patrons, their teachers, their companions, their lovers if they are to survive. This is what became of three gods and three mortals. Sugar Rush, Sunflower, and Monochrome. Feudal Japan supernatural AU.





	1. The First Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post on the site and the first chapter of many!

The darkness closed in as the clouds obscured the moon, a young woman clothed in a slightly weathered pink, black and silver kimono walked the streets of her village. She had a loaf of bread clutched tightly in her hands as she looked hurriedly for the one place she could stay with relative safety. The streets of Kuroyuri at night were not safe, thugs and other cutthroats preyed on those foolish enough to wander them. Mistral’s shogun, Lionheart, had grown lax in his duties to police the towns and villages of the imperial province. Nora had been abandoned at an early age, she couldn't recall even what her parents looked like. All the orange haired woman remembered from her earliest years was the sound of a voice, one night as she slept by a shrine dedicated to the God of Life.

"Nora," The voice whispered, rousing the orange haired child. "Nora Valkyrie."

"W-who's there?" Nora asked, a little frightened by the voice.

"You can't recall your name, so that is your name from now on." The voice replied, it seemed to come from the warm wind itself as blew. "You have much left to see in this world, even though you will face challenges everyday. Life, your life, is always worth living. Never take it for granted and never let someone take it from you." The voice said, the breeze this time carried with it the scent of roses.

"N-Nora V-Valkyrie...that is my name from now on? Hhmm, I like it." The blue-green eyed girl said, smiling, happy at having a name.

"I'm glad," The breeze continued, sweetly sounding almost like it was smiling. "You may feel alone sometimes, Nora, but you aren't. If you ever do, find this shrine, you are always welcome here."

That night was twelve years ago. She awoke to a well made pink and silver kimono, with the image of a pink lightning wrapped hammer dyed on the back of it. Nora assumed it was only a dream as the only person who was at the shrine when she awoke was a silver eyed shrine maiden who cared for it.

"It cost a lot more to get this loaf of bread than I thought it would. But at least we can have it with dinner tonight. Ruby said she'd be making rice balls, we can use it as bread bowl. It's been awhile since we've done that." Nora mused, as she moved quickly, doing her best to stay in the candlelight of the paper lanterns hanging from the windows of the houses.

The clatter of a loose stone caught the girl's attention, "Well, well, where did you get that bread girl? Actually, it doesn't matter cause you're gonna give it to me." A man said as he stumbled out of a nearby alley.

 _"Great, this guy again."_ Nora thought, slowly backing from the alleyway. As she did so, she wrapped a free hand into the folds of her kimono and around the hilt of a tantō knife. The woman could see the bandage around his arm from their last encounter. "How many times do we have to do this? I'm not going to give you my food!" Nora growled out, her knuckles whitened as her grip tightened around the concealed weapon and the mugger tottered closer.

"A girl like you should know better than to disobey her betters. Now give me the bread before I have to teach you some manners!" He ordered, a wicked light shown in his eyes as he drew a knife of his own from his sash.

"His eyes are glazed….he's drunk. Shouldn't even have to cut him this time." The orange haired woman thought as she kept backing to the wall opposite the alley entrance. She had spotted a ladder propped against the wall. "If you come any closer, I'm gonna cut you again. Only I'll cut deeper, I'm getting tired of having to see your ugly face." Nora threatened, with false bravado. She wouldn't kill the man, she doubted she could beat him in a close quarters fight anyway, even if he was drunk. Her only option was to run.

"Oh don't think I'd forgotten about that! I'll be paying you back for that as well! I don't even care if you are a shrine maiden, the gods gave up on me a long time ago so I curse them! Especially Seikatsu!" The drunk grinned with malice.

* * *

Neither the man or Nora could see the figures floating a few dozen feet above them. One was clad in a black and red kimono patterned with red roses, her long red and black hair flowed down to the middle of her back, her silver eyes filled with sadness and anger. The other was dressed in a gold and orange kimono patterned with flames, her golden mane of hair was as long as her sister's, her lilac eyes were filled with regret. "He's not a drunk... the darkness in his heart opened his soul to the demons, the Grimm. I've lost too many lives to them." The red and black clad life god mourned. She could see a dark aura permeating from him, dominating the white aura that was his life force.

"He made the choices that lead him to this, sister. Now we must wait and see how this plays out. It may turn out for the better." Shi, the gold and orange clad death god consoled. Seikatsu hated having to stand aside and let her sister take a soul to the afterlife, just as Shi hated to take them away.

 _"Fate has decreed what I fear it has… No I will not lose you, Nora, I promised to keep you safe. I promised you would never be alone. I will not lose you to my sister, you still have much to see. Though how you may see it now might not be what I had originally wished."_ Seikatsu thought determinedly. For twelve years she had watched Nora grow up, both from a distance as a deity, and as the local shrine maiden. Recently, she had even encouraged Nora to become a shrine maiden as well. Nora only knew her as Ruby Rose, a fellow shrine maiden, but fate was forcing her hand she would soon know her as Life.

"Seikatsu, fate decrees that she must die. You can't intervene. I know you hate losing them, but you know I hate having to take them; there are rules even we must follow." Shi said, her eyes scanning a scroll of names. The mortals that needed to be lead to their final rest were on that scroll. Seikatsu could not see the scroll, but Nora's name had appeared on the list.

Seikatsu did not reply, she only tightened her grip on the pair of kama she had drawn when she saw the Grimm possessed man. The black, red, and silver hand scythes where a symbol of the harvest, of peace, and a symbol of life. If what she feared came to pass, she would use them to defend her shrine maiden. Even against her sister, Death. The criminal however was lost to her. Either Life or Death had to kill the Grimm, and doing so would kill the man as well. The sisters continued to watch in silence, waiting for an opening to strike.

* * *

"How dare you?! You'd forsake the one who gave you life?!" Nora's eyes went wide in shock and anger, she drew her tantō. She ignored her decision to run, no one was going to dishonor her patron without a few stitches to accompany their words. She lunged forward slashing the man's chest, her blue-green eyes hardening as an emotional storm unleashed itself.

"You stupid girl! Your God is a lie, if she really cared she would have helped me instead of letting me waste my days in this forsaken village!" The man countered, stumbling back to avoid the strike. He used his freehand to aim a punch at Nora's head.

"That's because you're supposed to help yourself! It's your life to live, not the gods. You have free will for a reason!" Nora didn't notice the incoming strike in her anger, the punch landed with enough force to cause her to see stars. It knocked her to her knees, she could feel blood beginning to trickle from where he had struck. Her assailant was standing over her and before she could move, he kicked the tantō from her hand and raised his own. Nora glared at him, "You think I'll beg, don't you? Think again, I was happy with this life, even though it was difficult at times. If it ends tonight then so be it!"

"Heh, I wouldn't expect someone under the yoke of the gods to understand. You'll die all the same, but you'll go to nothing, there is no paradise!" He raised his blade, and brought it down.

Nora felt a spray of blood splash against her face, if it hadn't been for the severed hand, discarded tantō lying in front of her and the scream that accompanied it she would have thought the blood was her own. But what had the orange haired woman's attention was the black and red clad woman standing behind her attacker, a pair of matching kama gripped tightly in her hands, rage filling her silver eyes. One of them was red with the mugger's blood the blade of the other was resting on his throat. The scent of roses was thick in the air as the wind picked up. A mixture of fear, joy, and confusion filled her as the moon came out from behind the clouds and Nora realized who she was seeing, _"Ruby?…no that can't be her...but it looks like her, yet the scent of the roses…Lady Seikatsu!"_

 _"You're unharmed, good. Though, knowing Shi, your name was on her list tonight because of this attack. I've broken a fundamental law by interfering, father will not be pleased…neither will Shi."_ Seikatsu thought as she dug the crescent blade of her kama deeper into the possessed man's neck, choking off his screams. She looked from Nora, who had managed to compose herself into a reverent bow, to Shi who stood behind the shrine maiden. A look of outrage crossed her features, her calm lilac eyes shifting to crimson. Ignoring her sister's look and her shrine maiden, Seikatsu began to pass her sentence. "You who have turned your back on the gods and allowed the Grimm into your heart! You will find no peace, the rest of your existence will be spent in torment. As you forsook me, the one who gave you life, I forsake you! Now be gone forsaken one, be gone Grimm!" Seikatsu's voice rang with authority as she drew her kama deep across the man's throat opening it completely, then brought the other across the back of his neck cleanly severing his head. A burst of malignant force spread out from the headless body, taking the form of a red eyed black wolf before dissipating, as the Grimm died with it's host.

Seikatsu watched the corpse intently in case the Grimm was not entirely dead. "Only a beowolf this time, but that was too close for my liking."

It was Nora's voice that pulled her attention away. "L-Lady S-Seikatsu?"

"You're safe Nora," The god of life said, stowing her kama into her sash, taking the shrine maiden's hands and helping her to her feet. "And you don't need to call me that. You've always been intelligent so I know you've figure out who I have been all this time."

"Y-yes, but, that wouldn't be right…I mean you're well..." Nora said, taking her hands back, her voice trailing off in embarrassment.

"Please, Nora? We've known each other a long time now, you've always called me Ruby. Besides I gave you your name and in a way you've given me mine." Seikatsu suggested, a smile gracing her features, both at her realization that her shrine maiden had given her a name, and in relief at Nora's safety.

"I-if that is what you wish, Lady Seika-, Ruby." Nora said, a little of her uneasiness leaving her.

Shi's voice interrupted them, "Seikatsu we need to talk about what happened here tonight."

"I know," Ruby answered, glancing at her sister before looking back at Nora. "Head back to the shrine, and get yourself cleaned up, I'll be there shortly. I'll explain everything that has happened and what may happen as a result of tonight's meeting. Do not worry, I promise you'll be fine." She placed a hand on Nora's shoulder, a brief glow of silver light over the gash that was opened on the side of her head when the Grimm struck Nora.

The shrine maiden could feel her skin knitting itself back together and was healed in seconds, "I know I will be. I'll see you at the shrine, though unfortunately we won't be having bread with dinner tonight." Nora said looking at the ruined loaf, and trying to lighten thoughts that were going through her mind.

"We'll think of something, now go on." Ruby said, smiling at Nora's attempted humor. Once the shrine maiden was gone, Shi vented her frustration.

"I know you could not see the scrolls of the dead, so how did you know?!" Shi shouted, her crimson eyes burning with anger.

"What do you mean how? It's my job to know when one of my people are destined to die!" Ruby retorted sharply, her blood covered kama once again clenched in her fists.

"But you have no idea what you've done! Your actions tonight have sealed Nora's fate, her name has been crossed out. The scrolls see her as dead but because she has not in actuality died she is no longer guided by fate!" The death god shouted, waving the golden scroll in her sister's face, showing her Nora's name. It was crossed out with white while the others were crossed out with black.

"You mean she won't die, at least not in the mortal sense?" Ruby asked in clarification, as she wiped her weapons clean and returned them to her sash. Nora would be unable to die by any mortal means but what she would face from now on would not be of the mortal realm.

"Yes! That goes against the fundamental laws that father set down. Do you know what you've sentenced her to?" Shi asked not expecting an answer.

"An eternal life of being able to see the souls of the living, the dead, the damned and the Grimm. Yes I am aware, though I do wish it didn't have to come to this." Ruby sighed, knowing the trials that awaited her friend.

"What are you going to do? She has no fate, no mortal life, she straddles the line between the mortal and the immortal." Shi asked concerned, her anger cooling.

"I'll be her guide, her teacher, and above all her friend and companion. After all I promised Nora I would never leave her alone." The life god said, a smile returning to her face.

"I know you will be. You've done well all this time after all, now it's time to do better." Shi nodded, her eyes returning to lilac. The death god placed a hand on the corpse and flames born from the afterlife enveloped it.

"I plan to," Ruby said suddenly as they watched as the former host of the Grimm was consumed by the fire. "Father is going to be beside himself."

"Yes he will be." Shi agreed, with a short shake of her head.

"I wonder how beside himself he will be. I can't imagine he'll be mad for too long, a century or two at the most." The red and black clad woman said.

"If you're lucky. Then again you could just pout, it worked pretty well last time." The gold and orange clad woman suggested.

"That is true….wait….is that...fire?" Ruby asked, pointing in the direction of the shrines dedicated to Life and Death. Following her sister's hand Shi could see flames reaching for the clouds and the tops of the houses and nearby trees.

 _"That's coming from my shrine! The Ren clan….not them...anyone but them!"_ Shi thought, as she raced off in the direction of the fire.

"Shi, What about Nora? She should be at the shrines by now!" Ruby called, racing off after her sister.

"She'll be fine you and I both know that!" The gold haired woman replied, _"Besides you have your reasons for saving Nora. I have mine for saving as many of the Ren clan as possible."_


	2. The Healer's Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So originally I was going to finish off the remaining intros this chapter but then I hit 3k words and decided to call it there. Otherwise I'd have an 8-12k chapter sitting on my lap and I didn't want to shove that onto you all. So for now you all have Weiss and Blake's intros, Ren's will be next chapter and it will be a complex one to say the least. For now I leave you all to the second chapter of Sealing Fates! Enjoy the journey, keep moving forward, and don't feed the guard dogs! - Phoenix Commander signing off!

A blind young woman walked along the path that lead to the shrine of Sasuri, goddess of healing and comfort. Her sightless eyes were covered by a white silk scarf, she was dressed in an elaborate white and blue kimono patterned with silver snowflakes, the maiden's long silver-white hair was pulled back into a simple, yet off center, ponytail. The rap of her cane upon the occasional stone was the only sound that accompanied her in her solitude. Weiss Schnee, daughter of the shogun of Atlas, had never had to ask or want for anything in her relatively short life.

But this year was different, she had begged her father to let make the pilgrimage to the holy shrine. After her mother fell ill and passed away when she was younger, Weiss had taken to healing others when she was able. Mixing herbs into poultices, brewing potions and weaving talismans of healing by touch and smell alone. It had taken a long time of study, but the daughter of the shogun had become skilled as healer of minor maladies. So it was that on her eighteenth birthday the young woman began her journey to the shrine, far to the southeast in Mistral provence on the northern outskirts of the small village of Kuroyuri, which was also home to the shrines of Shi and Seikatsu.

"I've been blessed so far with being able to heal minor ailments, but I could do so much more if I had my sight." The healer sighed to herself, the steady tapping of her cane was the only reply she received. "Father wasn't pleased when I told him I'd prefer to travel without guards. I can't blame him, I wouldn't even see an attack coming let alone be able to defend myself." A small laugh passed the alabaster haired woman's lips.

"Well it's a good thing then that the roads are fairly safe. Though the towns are somewhat less so here in Mistral provence, especially at night. Shogun Lionheart is a strange one, choosing to defend the roads over the towns is not exactly what I'd call smart. Sure it protects trade but what about the towns themselves? Not all of the villages can post guards." A voice said from Weiss left, startling her.

"Who, who's there?!" The maiden asked, turning her cloth wrapped gaze to her left and right subconsciously, trying to orient herself to the voice, her grip tightening on her cane.

"Relax, I'm sorry for scaring you. My name is Blake Belladonna, I'm the shrine maiden of Sasuri and, if you're curious I'm six paces to your left and the steps up the hill start ten paces in front of you." The shrine maiden was dressed in a simple purple and black kimono with a pattern of belladonna lilies, her midnight black hair was left free flowing and her amber eyes sparkled with interest at meeting the new comer to Kuroyuri.  _You are right, Weiss Schnee, you could do more if you had your sight. But, in granting that request I would break the fundamental law… Lord Xiao-Long would not be pleased._ Sasuri thought as she looked at the young woman.

"I should have been listening more and talking less it seems. I normally hear people coming before they get too close." Weiss chuckled, her grip on her cane slackening.

Blake laughed a little, "Possibly, but I have been known to be rather quiet when I choose to be."

_She seems… different compared to some of the other people I've met._  Weiss wasn't sure if it was because of her disability or just because she was in another region of the empire but something about the shrine maiden gave the Atlassian pause as they started up the steps, it was quiet, almost imperceptible, the telltale rattle of metal. "I'm Weiss Schnee, of the Schnee shogunate. Belladonna, that's not a clan name I'm familiar with." The healer stated not unkindly.

"I'm not surprised, it's not a clan name. Just the name I chose for myself." Blake replied simply, with a shrug even though her new walking companion couldn't see it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Schnee." The irony of her comment was not lost on her, however the goddess of healing and comfort did like to be approachable when able, even if she could only be out in the guise of a mortal.

"Weiss is fine. I'm content to live without titles so long as I can help people." Weiss shook her head softly, pressing a finger to her lips in thought a moment,  _Chose for herself, what does she mean?_ Weiss thought confused, the young woman pondered as she and Blake continued up the steps, her cane tapping lightly as it sounded out sure footing on the steps.

* * *

The rattle of metal reached the healer's ears again as they continued up the steep hill to the shrine,  _I might as well ask what that is, it's not like I have any other way to find out without touching it._ As the alabaster haired traveler stopped in the middle of the stairs she heard the rustle of Blake's sandals on the stone, signaling her stopping alongside her. "Blake, I've been hearing a rattling of metal as we walked. I don't want to sound rude but do you mind telling me what it is?"

The disguised goddess paused a moment, glancing at the setting sun, before reaching underneath the sash of her kimono and adjusted something, "Sorry about that, I thought I'd wrapped it tighter. Remember how I said the streets in town aren't very safe?"

"Yes, I do recall that." The blind maiden nodded.

"I'm armed, specifically with a kusarigama with a thirteen foot weighted chain. And yes I am very adept at using it if needed," Sasuri clarified hastily, when she noticed Weiss' cheeks lose a little color. "Not that I expect to be needing it."

Weiss said stammered slightly, she had thought the noise would have been something more harmless, "I, I see. I guess the emperor should have a few words with shogun Lionheart about protecting his towns better. A shrine maiden shouldn't have to go armed." The healer tapped her cane, searching for the next step as she started to climb the steps again.

"That would be one way to fix things." The raven haired woman said, placing a hand on Weiss' elbow as they reach the top of the steps. "We're here, the shrine is thirty paces in front of you."

"Could, could you describe it to me? My mother was a worshiper of Sasuri. I'd like to be able to picture the image of the goddess." The healer asked, her voice trembling a little.

"Of course, it's a statue of a young woman with hair as black as night. Her eyes are bright amber in color and the goddess is dressed in a black and purple kimono patterned with white belladonna lilies." Blake informed the pilgrim, as Weiss walked up to the statue. The healer knelt, her sightless eyes roving the statue as best they could.

"I, I think I can see her. Beat-" The whispering sound of steel being drawn interrupted the healer's words. "Blake, was that-?!"

The goddess turned toward an approaching samurai, a naked katana held in his fist. "Weiss, stay where you are!" The rattle of chain and a whirring sound filled the silver haired healer's ears as Sasuri drew her kusarigama and started swinging the chain. "Adam, why have set foot on this sacred ground?! I told you never to return!"

"Come now, Sensei, you know I couldn't stay away." The samurai said, his face was concealed by a mask depicting the war god Hachiman.

"You're nothing more than Grimm spawned filth! You used what I had taught you to further your skills at killing!" Sasuri retorted, casting the heavy weight at her former student. Weiss heard a loud ringing of steel as the whirring noise stopped suddenly.

"You didn't teach me anything! Only how to set a broken limb or bandage a wound, nothing that could actually help people!" Adam sneered behind his mask, struggling to hold onto his katana as the disguised Sasuri tried to wrest the weapon from him with her kusarigama. The weight of the chain around the blade keeping him from raising it in an offensive stance.

"I will not say it again, drop your blade and leave. Never return here, as far as I am concerned you are not worthy of my teachings and what you did learn was more than enough!" Sasuri gave a final tug on the chain of her kusarigama, to tear the weapon from Adam's hands. To the masked samurai's credit he did not lose his grip on his weapon but there was a ringing peal of metal as the blade snapped in two under the strain of the chain and its wielder's grip. The whirring of the chain continued quickly, filling Weiss' ears again.  _Though teaching the art of healing to mortals does not break the rules set down by Lord Xiao-Long, you have certainly made me regret teaching you._

_A shrine maiden should not have to be armed. And a healer should not be taught just so they can kill!_ The healer couldn't stand it anymore, she stood, her cane griped tightly in her hand, as she turned her silk wrapped eyes in the direction of the swordsman and the ringing and broken sword blade. "You heard the shrine maiden's words, ronin. Leave or shogun Lionheart will be the next person I have audience with when I am done praying."

"H-How dare you! I am no ronin! Who are you to speak that way to me, woman?!" Adam's face contorted in anger at Weiss' interruption and insult.

"I am Weiss Schnee, daughter of Jacques Schnee shogun of Atlas, and I will not have the scent of blood stain this place. Do as Blake commanded, it makes no matter if you have a lord. Even if you do he would be better served if you fell on your own blade the way you desecrate this holy place by drawing your weapon." Weiss replied, learning to heal just to be better at killing went against everything she believed in. The samurai before her deserved nothing but her scorn.

"A daughter of the Schnee shogun… You're a long way from home," The samurai replied, still sneering behind his mask, Weiss heard the sound of one of his sandals sliding on the ground as he shifted his stance toward Weiss. "And no guards, aren't you worried about assassins?"

Sasuri's amber eyes hardened in anger as she noticed the movement and the open threat. Even with half a blade, Adam could still harm Weiss if he was fast enough, the goddess sent the weight of her chain toward his leg forcing him dodge back or become tangled in the chain of the kusarigama or injured by the weight, "Weiss does not need a guard so long as she is at this shrine! Do not make me spill your blood, just leave!"

The chain of the kusarigama gave the red haired samurai pause, he couldn't get past Sasuri's weapon with a broken sword, at least not without issue.  _Hhmm… I can always come back to deal with that blind wretch another time. Besides I still have to pay the shrines of Shi and Seikatsu a visit as well._ Adam bent and picked up the blade piece from where it lay in the ground, placing it in its sheath and following it with its hilt. "Very well I shall do as asked. I still have another few shrines to visit anyway." The samurai turned briskly on his heels and left the shrine, walking down the steps to toward Kuroyuri village proper.

As the goddess of healing watched him leave, Sasuri saw something that made her blood turn to ice. Adam's aura was almost completely black.  _I should have killed him instead of letting him go, but with Weiss here… No, I'll leave him for Shi and Seikatsu to deal with._

* * *

An hour after the incident the silence of the shrine was broken once more. "How could someone learn to heal just to be better at killing? It doesn't make any sense to me, Blake." Weiss lamented shaking her head, pulling the raven haired goddess' gaze to her. The blind healer was kneeling before the statue of the goddess again.

The amber eyed goddess walked over to her, kneeling with the silver haired pilgrim at the statue base. Placing a hand gently on the young woman's shoulder she replied, "It's something that cannot be avoided. To learn of the human form in order to heal it you have to learn of the ways it can be harmed."

"Doesn't it go against Sasuri's teachings though? Even if people learn to heal they're learning to harm as well, it sounds more in line with Shi." The white and blue robed woman inquired.

The disguised goddess found herself chuckling a little at the question. It wasn't one she had to answer often as not many questioned the connection between herself, Shi, and Seikatsu _,_ "No, not really. In a way to learn the ways of Sasuri is to learn the ways of Seikatsu and Shi as well. The three goddesses are linked after all. Seikatsu creates life, Sasuri heals and maintains it when able, and if needed Shi takes it away to the far shores of the underworld."

Weiss pondered the woman's words for a moment, her brow furrowing as she thought, "I'm not sure I fully understand. Maybe with time I will but I don't see it."

"Maybe with time. You told me your mother was a worshiper of Sasuri, do you also worship her or just practice healing?" The black and white clad deity asked, steering the conversation toward the reason for Weiss' pilgrimage.

"I did not worship her, not at first anyway. But after my mother passed away I learned to heal back home. And the more I learned the more I found myself drawn to Sasuri's teaching. I want to be able to heal more serious injuries," The blind worshiper's hand moved slightly to the cloth about her eyes, "But as I am I can't. The soldiers of Atlas die from many wounds I can't heal because of lack of sight, even the people who don't fight die from similar injuries."

_She wants so much to help people. You traveled months to come here to pray for aid and not once before now have I heard a prayer from you asking for yourself, only for others. You even faced an enemy with a drawn blade, trusting that I could keep you safe._ Sasuri's thoughts were in turmoil, she wanted to heal Weiss, to give her the sight she wanted. Her actions so far in life told the goddess that the woman kneeling next to her was worthy of that much and more.

Weiss' next question drew the goddess from her thoughts, "I don't feel the sun as much now, have the stars come out yet?"

Looking at the sky, the goddess of healing and comfort could see the stars were indeed out and the moon was just beginning to climb into the sky, "They are and the moon is just starting its climb, it's beautiful."

The blind healer's next question almost broke Sasuri's heart and made up her mind for her. "Could you describe it for me, please?"

_Damn the rule._ Sasuri thought, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.  _You have the right to see this._ The goddess gently placed her hand over Weiss' covered eyes.

"B-Blake what are you doing?!" The pilgrim exclaimed, surprised at the weight pressing on her eyes.

"Something I should have done a long time ago, Weiss. In defiance of the rule that would see you blind for all your days, I, Sasuri, goddess of healing and comfort give to you your sight." The amber eyed goddess declared, her hand glowing a blinding white.

The darkness that Weiss had lived in her entire life, lifted slowly it was hazy at first but as the seconds became minutes the dark haze was replaced with the dim light of the stars and moon that penetrated the silk around her eyes. Slowly, uncertain and fearful that it was just a trick the blind young woman untied the cloth, her hands unsteady for the first time she could recall.

"I, I…" She stammered, tears running down her cheeks, unable to form a coherent word or thought. Sasuri had positioned her so that the moon would be the first thing Weiss saw. The healer finally moved her gaze from the moon after a few minutes, to her goddess, "L-Lady Sasuri? W-Why?" She stammered at first in surprise at seeing her goddess, and then in joy at being able to see. Tears of joy began to cascade down her fair cheeks.

"As Seikatsu is fond of saying, there is much in this world you need to see. I would have you see it unaided in all its beauty." The black and white robes goddess said, a smile on her lips, the stain of her own tears now shed at seeing Weiss', upon her face.

Weiss did something then that no mortal or god would have expected. She wrapped Sasuri in an embrace, tears still flowing as she cried with joy and thanks. "Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you." The goddess' only reply was to gently run her hand through the maiden's hair as she softly patted her back.

Her mind was on another thing for the moment, for she had seen Weiss' eyes. They were a bright, beautiful blue but the irises of both were marked with a white snowflake, her pupils forming the center.  _She is fateless now, between mortal and immortal. But it makes no matter, I will teach her and help her for all eternity. That will be my way to repay her for all the years I left her in darkness._

On the other side of Kuroyuri, two other goddess' were rushing headlong to their shrines, while another fateless one was about to see what life would be like for her from now on.


	3. Death's Refusal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: This chapter should have been out months ago. Unfortunately I got a little too nit picky on how it was going and rewrote it about twelve times. I was at the point where I needed a break and posted All that Glistens ahead of schedule and went so far as to write notes for a fluffy family AU where Yang and Weiss are raising their biological daughter, Neo. On the fence about going through with, but the notes exist so who knows?

* * *

Lie Ren, a young shinshoku of Shi, panted heavily as he leaned against the statue of his goddess. He was newly trained in the rites of worship at the shrine by his parents, intending to take his father's place as the head priest of the shrine. The matching pair of kodachi clutched tightly in his fists were red with blood. The faint drip of the life giving liquid dropping to the rough stones of the small courtyard echoing in his ears. Being newly ordained, he had performed his first funeral service that morning, and now tonight he had taken three lives. The bodies were splayed out before him on the ground. Two were curled into a ball a short distance away after he'd disemboweled them. One was at his feet, a pair of long, deep slashes ran across his chest from shoulder to hip.

 _I know this isn't what you wanted of me, Lady Shi._ He thought, as tears trickled down his face mingling with the blood that had spattered onto him.

He could feel it soaking into his green and white kimono making it stick to his skin, its copper scent invading his nostrils. A fourth and last was a red haired samurai wearing a black kimono and a mask of Hachiman, leaning against the small gate of the shrine still barely clinging to life; just as the priest wanted him. This last assailant had opened his mother's throat with a broken katana, the blade snapped two feet from the hilt, as Ren returned to the shrine with his family's supper.

"For a priest...you sure fought like a Grimm. H-How did it feel boy, those blades cutting through us?" The man wheezed, his hands pressed to his abdomen trying to slow the draining of his blood.

Lie Ren pushed himself away from Shi's shrine and slowly walked over to the dying man. The weight of the short blades felt heavy in his hands, almost dragging along the stonework of the courtyard as he tottered toward the assailant. "Why?! What was to be gained by doing all of this?!" The green and white robed man spat as he reached out and tore the mask of Hachiman from his face, casting it over his shoulder.

"To send a message. T-That the gods don't deserve our worship or their power." He chuckled, a faint spray of blood filled the air as the chuckle turning into a wheezing cough.

The shinshoku struck the assailant across the side of the head with the pommel of one of the kodachi, knocking him to the courtyard floor. "You bastard! You would murder people just to spite the gods?! People who did you no harm?!"

Pulling himself back up into a kneeling position, the man continued to chuckle until it changed into a cackle. "You don't understand, boy. People like you, who would willingly give themselves over to the yoke of the gods, people who are willing to endure what the gods give them, make me sick. This was as much to keep me from wreching at the thought of your existences as it was to send a message!"

The rage that had been coursing through Lie Ren faded, replaced by revulsion at the still cackling creature before him. "You surely are damned. Go to the torturous afterlife you so richly deserve." He raised both kodachi to bring them down in a final cut at his neck. The blades struck hard, the force vibrated through the blades and into his palms, but they didn't bite into the exposed flesh.

Backing away quickly in surprise, Lie heard the sound of bones cracking and reforming. The samurai continued to cackle, even as his skin started to split and tear as his arms stretched, and long spurs of bone sprouted from his back. He began to writhe on the ground, tearing his kimono from his body. His nails turned bone white and elongated into claws. The samurai quickly began to tear at his own skin as if trying to release something trapped within his body. As the scraps of skin fell away it revealed thick muscle, black as a moonless night. The bones of his face cracked and reformed into a long beak, piercing through the skin that remained on his face. The wretched man's arms and legs continued to snap and break with sickening cracks and reformed into powerful, beastial legs. Black feathers soon sprouted along the bone spurs on his back, giving shape to dark wings.

With a final mad cackle that rose to an ear shattering shriek, the thing that was once human stopped its writhing, stood on it's thickly muscled legs, and looked hard at the young man before him. His head, now appearing like some great bird of prey, cocked inquisitively as his burning red eyes watched him from underneath a new mask of hard bleached bone. A thick, long, black tail, with spikes of white bone at its tip, twitched and waved as the four legged, winged beast prowled closer to the shinshoku.

Lie Ren backed away quickly, the blades in his hands fell weakly from his grasp. He knew now why they hadn't harmed the rogue samurai. The man had been consumed by a Griffon, one of the many Grimm that fed on the souls of the living and hated the gods above all else. "Oh Shi, hear the prayer of your shinshoku, the Grimm are in your house. Please protect those who come after me, grant me safe passage to the far shore of the Underworld, and cleanse this place of their taint."

"Oh, praying now are we? Have no fear shinshoku of Shi, I will not take your soul." The voice didn't come from the Griffon, but echoed in his mind. It was harsh and grating, like a quarry worker grinding rock into gravel. "No, I will just take the souls of your family. You deserve to suffer a lonesome eternity in the Underworld." The Grimm lunged faster than Lie could move. It's claws tore easily through his kimono, tearing deep furrows into his chest.

Giving the dying man one last look, the Griffon turned and prowled into the small home of the Ren clan to feed on the corpses of the dead and devour the souls that still lingered in the mortal world. When it was sated it would destroy the shrines.

* * *

"Nora! Where are you!" Seikatsu shouted as she and her sister arrived at the shrine, coughing as the smoke flooded into her mouth. The fire was already starting to die down, it had burned fast and hot through the old wood buildings of the shrines of Shi and Seikatsu. The Goddess of Life had the inkling of an idea on how it started. The cloying scent of blood, viscera, and sweat was just barely masked by the smoke.

"Over here!" The shrinemaiden coughed. She was by the statue of Shi, now toppled to the courtyard floor, trying to lift it. "There's someone under the shrine statue!"

Shi started sprinting toward her at her shout. The person could only have been from the Ren clan, as Ruby and Nora were the only ones who tended the shrine of life. "Grab hold of him, I'll lift the statue." She ordered, grabbing the still smoldering wood and lifting, straining against the weight of it.

The first thing Nora saw as she dragged the body of Shi's disciple out from under the statue was the blood. It ran along the grooves and cracks of the cobblestones, the crimson fluid had pooled underneath the man as he bled. "No, no, no, no." The shrinemaiden turned the man over onto his back, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of the four jagged and deep furrows carved into his chest. "W-What c-could've done this?" She asked casting her questioning gaze from one goddess to the other.

Shi did not reply, her voice was lost to her, though she recognized the young man. Like her sister Seikatsu, Shi also took pleasure in tending her own shrine alongside her disciples. The Ren clan had known her as Yang Xiao-Long, Lie Ren had been one of her only friends in the mortal world. The only person who had never worshiped at the shrine out of fear or purely as a sense of duty.

Ruby answered her shrinemaiden's question, her hands shook as she knelt by the body of the priest, "A Grimm. Griffon by the look of it, nothing else has four claws. Probably a young one, most likely finished devouring the soul of one of the bastards who attacked our home," She said, looking at the nearby, savaged corpses. "It fed on the souls of the freshly dead and then left when it was full." Placing a hand on his forehead and one over his tattered chest, the goddess of life closed her eyes and focused on the body before her. Her eyes snapped open as quickly as she'd closed them. She could just see the faint shimmering white of his aura, his soul, a small smile curled her lips even as they were surrounded by the death of the mortals she cared for. "His soul still remains! We need to get to Sasuri!"

Shi finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper as tears trailed down her cheeks. "We need to bury the dead and kill that damned griffon."

The crimson and black robed goddess looked at her incredulously as she picked Lie Ren up, his blood soaking into her kimono. "Shi! Did you not hear me?! His soul still remains. You know what we could do!"

"No, no, I couldn't." The Goddess of Death looked at her friend, held firmly in her sister's arms as if anchoring him within the mortal world.  _Or could I? I...I'm so tired of being feared and alone._

"I know what's in your heart, sister. Deny his passage." She replied firmly.

"But the law..." The blonde haired goddess trailed weakly. She wanted nothing more than to keep Lie Ren at her side, even as a fateless one, but some small part of her mind still clung to the law of her father.

Nora realized what Ruby was thinking, Sasuri could heal the wounds that the priest had, and if Shi denied Lie's passage to the afterlife then the goddess of life could bring him back to the mortal world. A storm started brewing in her turquoise eyes and she snapped, unable to understand why the orange and gold robed goddess wasn't willing to go through with her sister's plan. The shrinemaiden's hand cracked once, hard, across her cheek, "Damn it, Shi! Forge your own path! What is it you want in your life?!"

Shocked at what the silver and pink clad woman had done, Shi swallowed, her voice was unsteady "I…I don't want to be feared, I don't want to be alone because of who I am…" Her hands clenched tightly, as she steddied her voice, and looked from the shrinemaiden to her sister and settled her gaze on the savaged priest. "I don't want to lose the one mortal who never thought of me with fear, the one person who understood why I have to tear families apart and cause pain."

"Then let us go to Sasuri. We can return to bury the other dead after." Ruby said gently.

"A-Alright, Seikatsu." As the two goddesses and the shrinemaiden turned to leave, Shi noticed something that had escaped the worst of the smoke and fire, a white and red porcelain mask of Hachiman. Her eyes hardened, she knew of only one person who wore that mask, and had hated the three goddesses, Seikatsu, Shi, and Sasuri.  _Adam Taurus...You will be punished for this, whether you are a Grimm or a man._ She brought her heel down onto the mask, shattering it with a loud crack, and hurried to catch up to her sister and Nora.

* * *

Weiss and Blake were sitting by a small pond within the shrine, still looking at the moon and stars, when the loud hurried pounding at the gate disturbed them. Weiss stood first, motioning for her patron to stay. "I'll get the gate, Lady Sasuri."

"Blake, I told you my name was Blake when we met on the road. Blake will be fine between us." The goddess of healing and comfort said, giving the alabaster haired woman a smile.

The healer bowed slightly, before hurrying to the gate, "As you wish, Blake."

 _She's so formal, just like her mother was._ The goddess chuckled, only for Weiss' startled shout to catch her attention.

"Blake! Come quickly!"

Hopping to her feet, the goddess sprinted to the gate of the shrine, her eyes widened at the sight of Shi, Seikatsu, Nora and the body of Lie Ren. "Seikatsu, Shi?! W-What happened?!" She didn't notice the lack of surprise on Nora's features at hearing the names of the goddesses.

Ruby looked briefly at Weiss, noticing the snowflake that filled her irises, as she walked into the courtyard of the shrine.  _Another fateless one? That will soon make three, father won't be able to ignore our actions. Hmm...Weiss Schnee, well Sasuri, at least you chose someone with a good head on their shoulders._

"Our shrines were destroyed by a Griffon. But...that's not why we're here." Shi replied, her voice was weak, unable to manage more than a whisper as her emotions started taking over again.

"You...You want me to heal the harm caused to your disciple, Lie Ren." Blake started, looking at the grievous injury.

"Please, Sasuri. I beg of you to help." She said, bowing to her friend, her eyes clenched shut as if awaiting refusal.

Blake looked at Ruby, and then glanced at Nora. She could see the storm clouds of emotion raging in her turquoise eyes.  _Hmm...seems I'm not the only one to take a fateless one tonight, those are the eyes of one who has been removed from fate alright._ Blake placed her hands on Shi's shoulders and gently lifting her upright. "You understand what this will mean?" She asked, searching her burning crimson eyes for any hint of uncertainty, she didn't find it.

"Yes!" She said, her voice still a whisper but she was certain this was what she wanted to do.

"Alright then. Get him over to the shrine." Blake ordered, before looking at Weiss. "Could you go into the house and retrieve the bag by the door?"

"Of course." The white and blue clad woman said, turning and sprinting for the small dwelling, her mind was whirling with questions. The sound of her heart filled her ears as she ran until she could hear nothing but it's beat.  _Seikatsu and Shi's shrines…attacked by a Grimm… There has to be more to this._

Blake could sense the thoughts clouding the healer's mind. She closed her eyes and focused on calming the storm of questions within her new student. "Yes there is more to this, Weiss. And you will learn all of it, I assure you."

"B-Blake?" She knew her patron was out of earshot, and yet Weiss could hear the goddess's voice clearly, though it echoed in her mind. She could feel her words stilling her mind and slowing her racing heart.

She continued calmly, she needed her disciple to be calm and collected for what was to come.

"Retrieve the bag and return to the altar, we'll need it to help Shi's priest. The three of us will answer your questions, and the questions Seikatsu's shrinemaiden must have, once we are finished."

"Y-Yes." She stammered, picking up the bag and running back out to the altar and statue of Sasuri's shrine.

Blake took the bag from Weiss and rifled quickly though it, pulling out talismans, potions, needle, and other items that they would need. "I need to close the wounds or else his body will not accept the return of his soul." Passing the alabaster haired healer a few of the potions, she continued, "While I do this, these will need to be mixed into a pot of boiling water following process measurements. Do you think you could manage that?"

Weiss shook her head, she couldn't read the strange shapes and lines that were written on the bottles or the note for the doses. "Let me close his wounds instead, I'm no good dealing with potions and poultices unless I've made them myself."

"What do you...oh that's right." Blake blinked in realization, the blue eyed woman had no frame of reference for written language, shapes, or even color. Her sight was still new to her. "Take the needle and thread then, close his wounds as neatly as you can."

After a short time Weiss had closed the wounds that stretched from Ren's shoulder to his hip. With a final knot she severed the thread and Blake walked over to the altar, setting a small pot onto it. Thick multicolored clouds flowed over the edge of the pot and onto the floor of the courtyard.

"It's time. We must meet with him on the mortal shore of the Sanzu to bring him back." Blake said, holding one hand out to Ruby and the other to Weiss, "Weiss, you need to take part in this if you wish to learn everything."

With a hard swallow, she nodded taking the raven haired goddess' hand in her own. "Teach me, Sensei."

Ruby likewise held her free hand out to Nora, "What do you say, Nora?"

"I felt powerless tonight when I was attacked on the street. You saved me, you've always been there for me, ever since I was little. Show me what this new life may bring me, Ruby, so that I can stay by your side." She said, taking the red and black haired goddess' hand firmly in her own. The goddess of life found herself smiling at Nora's words.

"Are you ready, Lady Shi?" Nora asked, holding her hand out to the goddess of death, questioningly.

"You know we'll be seeing the far shore, correct? Are you ready for that?" She asked, looking from Nora to Weiss.

Both women nodded emphatically. Weiss wanted nothing more than to heal and learn at Sasuri's own hand, if a trip to the Underworld was what it took she would not waver. Nora had pledged herself to Seikatsu when she was just a child, her trust in the goddess had been made over the course of her life and only strengthened with tonight's events. Nothing would keep the shrinemaiden from her side. Snowflake patterned eyes, and storm filled turquoise met her gaze with a determination that Shi had hoped for.

"Yang. Lie Ren always called me Yang. Please use that instead of Shi. Now let us go retrieve my priest." She said, her gaze rested on Lie Ren's body, as she took Weiss and Nora's hands in her own. "Weiss, Nora, whatever happens do not let go. Always keep a hand upon one of us or you may become lost."

With that final word of warning, Blake started to chant. Her voice rang with authority and smoke began to glow and surround them. It poured into Lie Ren's mouth, filled his still lungs and deeper into the freshly sewn wounds on his chest. A moment later the goddesses and the two disciples disappeared into the clouds of smoke that poured from the pot on the altar, bound for the river that divided the mortal world and the Underworld.

* * *

Nora and Weiss had walked with the three goddesses through the mists, talking about what would now happen to them after the events of the night. As they'd walked, the two disciples had seen shifting shapes in the mist, the souls of those who had not come to the pier at the Sanzu River but were drifting lost in the mortal world unable or unwilling to rest. They would need to be guided to the river and it would be one of the duties they would help the three goddesses with. More than once a dark shape darted from the mist, only to be cut down by Blake or Ruby, or simply broken by a swift punch of Yang's fist or turned to ash at her touch. Grimm, demons, that had crossed the Sanzu River onto the mortal shore. They'd walked for what seemed like hours, though the goddesses had assured them it had only been a few moments, before the small pier on the bank of the Sanzu River came into view.

Lie Ren was standing on a pier looking out over a river of black, slowly flowing water. A small boat was tied to one side of the pier, bobbing softly in water of the river. Try as he might he couldn't see what lay on the other bank of the river as it was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable fog. He wasn't sure how long he'd been on the pier but he knew he couldn't stay.

"Why am I here? The last thing I recall was pain." He said to the softly shifting mist that surrounded the pier and the shore he was on.

"You're here, Lie Ren, because you died." A voice replied sadly.

Turning swiftly to where it came from, the last member of the Ren clan could see five figures, emerging from the mists. The speaker continued, she was robed in a red, silver, and black kimono, patterned with roses, a pair of red and black kama tucked into her sash. "You were attacked by a Griffon. One of the Grimm of the Underworld. I am Seikatsu, I was the one who gave you your life in the beginning."

"W-What of my family? My mother and father?" Ren asked, uncertain he wanted to hear the answer, as the memories flooded back into his cloudy mind.

"I...I'm sorry, Lie. Their souls were devoured by the Grimm that attacked you." A woman dressed in a pink and silver kimono said, her hands clasped, tightly in the Goddess of Life's hand.

"Who are you? Have we met?" He asked, confused at the woman's presence.

"I'm...I'm Nora Valkyrie, Lady Seikatsu's shrinemaiden. We have met on occasion."

Another figure spoke next, she was clad in an orange and gold kimono, patterned with flames. "I am Shi, the one who would guide you across the river to the far shore of the Underworld. You stand upon the mortal shore still. But I would have you return to the living, I will not ferry the last of the Ren clan to the afterlife."

"L-Lady Shi? Why, what have I done to have you refuse my passage. If I am dead and my family gone, then why would you have me return to the living?" He asked in shock, stepping toward her, before falling to his knees.

The goddess knelt in front of him, taking his hands into hers, "B-Because, Lie, you were the only person that never looked to me with fear. You always understood why I did as I had to." She said softly, tears dripping down her pale cheeks to the mist shrouded ground at her feet. "I can't lose the only person who ever looked at me with kindness and understanding to this dreary place."

The realization filled his mind, lifting the cloud that covered his memories, as he let his eyes meet hers, they'd lost their crimson shade, replaced with soothing lilac. "Y-Yang?" She nodded at the question. "What of the Grimm?"

"It was gone before we'd returned to the shrines." She replied, lowering her gaze at delivering the news that the monster that had murdered his family was still alive.

Lie Ren gently pulled one of his hands from her own and raised her gaze back to his. "You want me to return because I understood why you were needed, because I was person who was kind to you, because we were friends?" She nodded against his hand. He sighed, and then nodded. "Then I guess my family isn't gone entirely gone. Family isn't just blood."

"Lie?" She asked, looking into his eyes, they were a vibrant bright pink. They'd been blue when she'd seen them that morning, he was marked now as a fateless one.

"Yes, Yang?" Prompting her to continue, he smiled a little at calling her by that name. The familiarity of it helped ease the loss of his parents.

"T-The Grimm…" She trailed, unable to voice it's continued existence.

"Needs to die," He continued for her as he stood up, and helped her back to her feet, "But I know I can't fight it. I need to learn about it, about life, death… And everything else." He said, looking from Ruby to Yang, and finally the two figures who had yet to speak.

"It seems you've made your choice to return, Lie Ren." The raven haired woman said, finally speaking. "I am Sasuri, Goddess of Healing, but you may call me Blake. This is my student, Weiss Schnee. Though I suppose my priestess would be more fitting, given she seems fit to follow her mother's path."

"My Lady, that would require me to learn the rites." Weiss replied, bowing slightly to Ren, before arching an eyebrow at Blake.

"And you will, along with your letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. You have more to learn than Ren and Nora do, my dear Weiss." She assured her, chuckling a little as she tallied off the different topics of study.

"We'll all be helping with that, eh, Ruby?" Nora said, bouncing in place a little. The small statured shrinemaiden was even smiling a little despite the circumstances that had led her to this point in her life.

"Indeed." Ruby couldn't resist returning Nora's smile with one of her own, "And besides, it's not like you won't have an eternity to learn it all."

"Laughter on the banks of the Sanzu. I never thought I'd hear it here." Yang said smiling as she shook her head incredulously.

A short time later the smoke of the ritual that had taken the goddesses and their followers to the banks of the river Sanzu dissipated. It colessed into their shape, before finally solidifying and they found themselves back at Sasuri's shrine. After a short moment they watched as Lie Ren took his first breaths in his new life, the three goddesses and their fateless had helped guide his soul through the mists and back to the waking world.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Lie Ren." Yang said, carefully helping him up into a sitting position.

"You'll need to take it slow for few days. The power of that smoke healed the worst of your injuries and allowed us to guide you back, but you're still not fully healed." Blake informed him, handing him a small cup of water.

Ren winced as he lifted his arm to take it. "H-How long was really d-dead for?" He asked, his voice harsh and cracked. As if he were unused to it.

"Hhmm… It was around the ninth hour of the night when we noticed the fire. So an hour or two I would guess." Ruby said, tapping a finger to her lips in thought.

"An hour or two?"

"More than that has passed, it looks like the sun has started to rise, the moon is going to its rest." Blake said, nodding her head at the celestial bodies. "How long till your father takes notice of tonight's events?"

"I'm sure he already knows. He may just be trying to figure out what judgement to pass." Yang replied, taking the cup from Ren's hand and carefully pouring the water between his parched lips. A surprised look filled his eyes at her actions. "Don't give me that look. We're all in this together now and are going to have to look after one another, that means decorum need not matter between us." She said, her lips curling into a smirk as she arched an eyebrow slightly.

As he swallowed the water, the priest nodded his head as he replied, "Thank you, Yang." She simply nodded, her smirk turning into a smile, before sitting next to him and watched as the sun rose on the new day.

**Author's Note:**

> As the summary says this is a supernatural AU. So if I do end up killing a character that doesn't mean you won't see them again. Picture the setting roughly in the early Japanese Heian Period, only with the shoguns still acting as provincial governors instead of the emperor acting as a figurehead as was the case in actual history. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, there is much more to come!


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